Review: West Oak Coffee Guatemala Mundo Nuevo (Denton, Texas)

West Oak Coffee’s Milk and Honey Blend was my top pick in 2017 for “favorite coffee blend,” and I was excited to have a chance to buy one of their single-origin coffees on a recent trip to Denton. There were a lot of choices all under 3 days post-roast, which I found really impressive. This is a roaster/cafe that cares about freshness!

(Side note: I updated my Milk and Honey review to add in my thoughts on the beans pulled as espresso – thanks for updating your packaging to make it clear this blend is suited for espresso, West Oak!)

Whole bean: Chocolaty! These smell great.

French press: Caramel, chocolate, and almond. Sweet and satisfying.

Chemex: Toasty and nutty flavors. Compared to the French press cup, it was less sweet and more nutty.

AeroPress: Super smooth and chocolaty on the front, with a bit of almond skin bitterness on the end. After I added a tiny bit of water (about 1 oz) to the concentrate, it erased the bitterness and the coffee became silky.

V60: Similar to the Chemex cup, but with more astringency and less nuttiness.

Summary: Immersion methods suit these beans best, in my opinion – the French press and AeroPress brought out the sweet caramel and chocolate flavors most effectively. It’s a pretty simple and straightforward flavor palate but who can argue when they’re done this well? I enjoyed this very much.